Articles
Welcome to our research center! We've put together a library of information on important financial topics that we believe you'll find helpful.
Simply click on one of the general financial topics below and you'll find a selection of easy-to-understand information sheets about related financial concepts and strategies. This information is updated regularly to reflect the latest facts, figures, legislation, and economic trends.
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Quarterly Recap
- 2nd Quarter 2012
- 1st Quarter 2012
- 4th Quarter 2012 Outlook
- 3rd Quarter 2012
- 4th Quarter 2012
- 1st Quarter 2013
- 2013 Mid-Year Market Outlook
- Quarterly Recap - 2nd Quarter 2013
- 2013 Fourth Quarter Market Outlook
- Quarterly Recap - 3rd Quarter 2013
- Quarterly Recap - 4th Quarter 2013
- Annual Market Recap - 2013
- Quarterly Recap 1st Quarter - 2014
- Market Outlook - Mid-Year 2014
- 2014 Fourth Quarter Market Outlook
- Quarterly Recap - 3rd Quarter 2014
- Market Outlook - 2015
- Quarterly Recap - 4th Quarter 2014
- Annual Market Recap - 2014
- 2nd Quarter 2015 Market Outlook
- Quarterly Recap 1st Quarter - 2015
Market Commentary
- 2012 Outlook
- January 11th 2012
- February 1st 2012
- March 5th 2012
- March 22nd 2012
- April 12th 2012
- April 19th 2012
- May 2nd 2012
- May 30th 2012
- June 20th 2012
- July 26th 2012
- August 7th 2012
- November 7th 2012
- December 13th 2012
- April 2nd 2013
- May 2nd 2013
- June 28th 2013
- July 7th 2013
- July 7th 2013 Long Version
- August 22nd 2013
- September 9th 2013
- September 24th 2013
- October 3rd 2013
- October 10th 2013
- November 12th 2013
- February 5th 2014
- February 18th 2014
- March 3rd 2014
- March 17th 2014
- April 7th 2014
- April 16th 2014
- May 1st 2014
- May 13th 2014
- May 30th 2014
- July 30th 2014
- August 1st 2014
- August 5th 2014
- September 3rd 2014
- September 4th 2014
- September 19th 2014
- September 18th 2014
- September 26th 2014
- October 10th 2014
- October 15th 2014
- October 27th 2014 #1
- October 27th 2014 #2
- November 6th 2014
- November 14th 2014
- November 26th 2014
- December 15th 2014
- December 19th 2014
- December 26th 2014
- January 9th 2015
- January 16th 2015
- Feburary 5th 2015
- March 3rd 2015
- March 11th 2015
- April 9th 2015
- May 4th 2015
Monthly Market Monitor
- January 2012
- February 2012
- April 2012
- May 2012
- July 2012
- August 2012
- October 2012
- November 2012
- February 2013
- April 2013
- July 2013
- August 2013
- October 2013
- November 2013
- January 2014
- February 2014
- April 2014
- May 2014
- July 2014
- August 2014
- October 2014
- November 2014
- January 2015
- February 2015
- April 2015
- May 2015
Estates & Trusts
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What Key Estate Planning Tools Should I Know About?
Wills and trusts allow you to spell out how you would like your property distributed, but they also go beyond that.
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How Can a Living Trust Help Me Control My Estate?
A living trust can help control the distribution of your estate upon death.
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What Are the Pitfalls of Probate?
The probate process can be lengthy and complex. There are strategies you can use to help avoid the probate process.
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How Can My Gift Benefit Me and the Charity?
To retain the tax advantages associated with charitable giving, your gift must be made to a qualified organization.
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How Will I Pay Estate Taxes?
If you believe your estate will be subject to estate taxes, consider how your heirs will pay the bill.
Retirement
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What Is a SIMPLE?
The SIMPLE plan may appeal to small business owners as it is easy to set up, administer, and allows for a tax deduction.
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What Is an IRA Rollover?
If you leave a job or retire, you should consider your options regarding your employer retirement plan assets.
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What Is a Roth 401(k)?
A Roth 401(k) is funded with after-tax money, and allows for tax- and penalty-free withdrawal of earnings if requirements are met.
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What Is a 403(b) Plan?
A 403(b) plan is a tax-deferred retirement savings plan that can only be offered by a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt entity.
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Why Do People Buy Annuities?
Annuities, an insurance-based financial vehicle, can provide many benefits that retirement investors might want.
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How Much Do I Need to Save?
Many realize it’s important to save for retirement, but knowing exactly how much to save is another issue altogether.
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Should You Bank Your Retirement on Your Business?
Allocating too much of your retirement investments to one company, even your own, can be a risky proposition.
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What Is a Self-Employed Retirement Plan?
Tax-deferred retirement plans for self-employed individuals have higher contribution limits than IRAs.
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What Is a Traditional IRA?
If you do not participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan, you might consider a traditional IRA.
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What Is a 401(k) Plan?
401(k) employer-sponsored retirement plans have many benefits, including that the funds accumulate tax-deferred.
Investing
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What Is an Exchange-Traded Fund?
ETFs have unique attributes and attempt to track all types of indexes, industries, or commodities.
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What Is Diversification?
An important element to successful investing is to manage investment risk while maintaining the potential for growth.
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What Types of Bonds Are Available?
Bonds are issued by many entities and share many characteristics, each type of bond has certain benefits and risks.
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What Is a Stock Index?
Stock market indexes can be useful benchmarks for gauging the performance of an investment portfolio over time.
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How Do Mutual Funds and Stocks Differ?
The difference between purchasing an individual stock versus shares in a mutual fund to potentially earn dividends.
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What Is a Mutual Fund?
A mutual fund is a collection of stocks, bonds, and other securities with certain benefits and risks.
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What Is an Annuity?
An annuity is a flexible financial vehicle that can help protect against the risk of living a long time because it provides an option for a lifetime income.
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What Investment Risks Should I Know About?
Understanding different types of investment risk can help investors manage their money more effectively.
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What Stock and Bond Investing Alternatives Do I Have?
There are other ways to invest in stocks and bonds besides owning individual shares or bonds.
Cash Management
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What About Financial Aid for College?
It's important to understand the options, such as financial aid grant programs, when having to pay for college.
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How Does Inflation Affect Me?
Historically, one of the best ways to fight the effects of inflation has been to utilize growth-oriented investments.
Risk Management
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Why Purchase Life Insurance?
If you have a family who relies on your income, it is important to have life insurance protection.
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Why Are Annuities Considered an Insurance Product?
An annuity is a contract between you and an insurance company to pay you future income in exchange for premiums you pay.
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What Is Life Insurance for Business Owners?
Company-owned life insurance is one way to help protect a business from financial problems caused by the death of a key employee.
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What Is Term Life Insurance?
Term life insurance differs from permanent forms of life insurance in that it offers temporary protection.
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What Is Whole Life Insurance?
Some of the pros and cons of whole life insurance.
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What Is Universal Life Insurance?
Consider a universal life insurance policy if you want the flexibility to change your premium or death benefit.
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What Is Variable Life Insurance?
Variable life insurance gives you the control to allocate your account value among a variety of investment options.
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What Types of Health Coverage Are Available?
There are three basic types of medical insurance plans: fee-for-service, managed care, and high-deductible health plan.
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Am I Prepared for Long-Term Care Expenses?
The odds of needing long-term care increase as you age. Prior planning can help protect you from financial ruin.